Reds beat Cubs behind Brandon Phillips' slam

The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo stands at second base in the fog as they play the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning Monday night at Wrigley Field. The Cubs lost, 6-2. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

CHICAGO – Scott Feldman threw one bad pitch to Brandon Phillips, and it ended up being costly.

Feldman gave up five runs and seven hits in six innings Monday night as Phillips hit a grand slam and matched his career high with six RBIs in the Cincinnati Reds' 6-2 win over the Cubs.

The Reds' second baseman had an RBI single in the first and a grand slam in the third off Feldman (5-5) and added an RBI grounder against reliever Blake Parker in the eighth.

"Obviously it was a couple of pitches but one pitch. (if) he turns [the grand slam] into a ground ball, it ends up turning into a good game," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "(There was) not a whole lot of hard contact besides Phillips' jam shot to right (in the first inning) and obviously the grand slam was nice. But other than that, he pitched pretty dang good."

Feldman's previous loss also came against the Reds, in a 7-4 defeat on May 24 at Cincinnati. He was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts since.

Homer Bailey, Zack Cozart and Joey Votto all singled off Feldman before Phillips took a 1-1 pitch through the fog and into the left-field bleachers for his fifth career grand slam.

Across town, the White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were delayed more than an hour because of a dense fog but the Cubs and Reds were never halted.

"I grew up in a lot of fog in the Bay Area," Feldman said. "It wasn't too weird, surprising to see it out here, I guess. I was hoping it would make it harder for them to pick up the ball. Apparently, it didn't work."

The Cubs, meanwhile, couldn't snap out of their offensive struggles.

They scored six runs during a three-game series with Pittsburgh, and didn't produce against the Reds until two outs in the sixth when Phillips' throw on a soft grounder by Nate Schierholtz was wild, allowing Luis Valbuena to score. The Cubs added another run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI double from shortstop Starlin Castro.

It was Castro's fourth hit in his last 42 at-bats (.095) but was his second strong plate appearance of the night, as Phillips made a leaping catch on a liner in the fourth inning.

"(The fourth inning line-out) helped me a lot because I knew I hit it hard," Castro said. "I went to home plate and hit it hard. If it happens (to be an out), it happens but I need to keep going and try to hit the ball hard every time and try for the best."

The Cubs have been competitive when playing outside of the Central Division, posting an 18-17 record. But in baseball's most competitive division, the Cubs are just 7-19, matching the crosstown rival White Sox for the fewest division victories this season.

The Reds have been particularly cruel, winning 10 straight at Wrigley Field, seven of eight overall, eight of 10 this season, and 17 of the teams' past 20 meetings. Cincinnati is tied for the third-best record in the NL, while the Cubs are among the bottom four.

Homer Bailey (4-4) picked up his first win since beating the Cubs on May 25. He pitched eight innings and gave up one unearned run and four hits while striking out eight to improve to 7-2 against Chicago. Bailey threw 120 pitches, his second most of the season and third 100-plus pitch start of the season.

NOTES: Cubs RHP Shawn Camp, on the DL since May 22 with a sprained right big toe, will pitch for Class-A Kane County on Tuesday and again Friday before being evaluated. ... Cubs RHP Kyuji Fujikiwa is in Birmingham, Ala., and is expected to have Tommy John surgery Tuesday. . Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said "as far as I'm it's concerned it's over" and Sveum said there's "nothing to that situation" when asked about the teams' May 26 game in Cincinnati. Cueto threw a pitch over the head of David DeJesus, leading to Garza calling Cueto "immature" and Baker saying the two pitchers should "box and let it be over with." . The Reds announced before Monday's game they will call up LHP Tony Cingrani to start Tuesday. Cingrani (2-0, 3.27) will start in place of Johnny Cueto, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list June 5, retroactive to June 1, with a strained right shoulder. Cingrani will face Matt Garza (1-0, 4.03).